Coupon attaching mechanism for bag forming machines



June 14, 1960 F. .1. BRAcEY, JR 2,940,233

COUPON ATTACHING MECHANISM FOR BAG FORMING MACHINES Filed Oct, 18, 19576 Sheets-Sheet 1 .45 W BY @fw im June 14, 1960 F. .1. BRACEY, JR2,940,233

COUPON ATTCHING MECHNISM FOR BAG FORMING MACHINES Filed OC'C. 18, 1957 5SheebSSheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS .III L, y D V//Ilf LUV I I l I l I l ll l I I l l. Ik 1M June 14, 1960 F. J. BRACEY, JR 2,940,233

COUPON ATTAOHING MECHANISM FOR BAG FORMING MACHINES Filed Oct. 18, 19576 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR /caeR/cx l BPAreY, z/R.

ATTORNEYS June 14, 1960 F. J. BRACEY, .JR 2,940,233

COUPON ATTACHING MECHANISM FOR BAG FORMING MACHINES Filed Oct. 18, 19576 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR /f/Qfoenlck d. Bama-r; L/Q.

ATTORNEYS June 14, 1960 F. J. BRACEY, JR 2,940,233

COUPON ATTACHING MECHANISM FOR BAG FORMING MACHINES Filed 00T.. 18, 19575 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR @eos/wo( d Emu-sv, c/R.

ATTORNEYS June 14, 1960 F. J. BRACEY, JR 2,940,233

COUPON TTACHING MECHANISM FOR BAG FORMING MACHINES 6 Sheets-Sheet 6Filed Oct. 18, 1957 mail INVENTOR 52505210( d. BRAccn c/Q.

BY /W M ATTORNEYS COUPON ATTACHING MECHANISM FOR BAG FORMING MACHINESFrederick J. Bracey, Jr., Springfield, Mass., assigner' 1fo PackageMachinery Company, VEast Longmeadow, Mass., a corporation ofMassachusetts Filed Oct. 18, 19.57, Ser. No. 691,028

Claims. (Cl. S25-'137) Vwhen they are redeemed.

Such maybe used for other purposes such fas to provide specialadvertising fior short runs without 'necessitating the printing ofspecial bag materials.

Among the objects of the invention is the provision ofi appmatusforattaching coupon strips'to bags which are formed from' a-tube .ofheat scalable sheet material v.which tubeis `heat sealed, drawndownwardly, y'illed' with articles and then heat' sealed a second Itimeatv ai point above the articles to form la VAbag portion inesaid :tubewith one of the primary features being that Athe coupon strip conformsclosely to the exterior of the bag as it is bulged-out by the articlestherein-without distorting "the normal shape of such a bag. Y

The above and other related objects' and features of the invention willbe apparent from a reading of the following description of thedisclosure found in lthe accompanying drawings and the novelty thereofpointedout in the appendedclaims.-

In the drawings: 4

Fig. l' is a yfronti elevation of a coupon feeding device embodying thisinvention and showing its' relation -to various elements of a bagforming and lfilling machine;

Fig. 2 is a' section taken substantially on line IIQH inlFig. l and onVanv enlarged scale;

Fig. 3 is a section taken online III-*III in Fig. 2 and on aA further'enlarged scale;

Fig. 4 is a section taken' on line IVe-IV in Fig. 2 and on afurtherenlarged scale;

IFigs.- 5, -6 and 7 are views taken substantially online V--V in Fig. 2,on a further enlarged scale, showing different operating positions-ofvarious parts.

v The present invention relates to the type of bags produced by bagforming and tilling machines of the'nature disclosed in the ZwoyerUnited States Patent No. 1,986,422. Such machines have been improvedover the years and are now vfound in several variant forms, however, thebasic mode of operatonis the saune and well known to persons inthepackagingeld.

The device of the present invention will now be 'describedin relation toits application to a bag-forming and iilling machine as described in thesaid Zwoyer 7 nited States Patent patent, however, the utility of theinvention is not limited to any givenv construction other than what isset forth inthe appended claims.

It is com-mon in lthis type of machine to Yhave dual units arranged inside by side relation. However, for

al1-understanding of the present invention itis 2,940,233 Patented June14, 1960 'sary to describe but one of these units and the couponattaching means associated therewith.

Y Referring rst vto Fig. 1, Acertain basic counterparts to the Zwoyerdisclosure will be apparent. Fig. l is taken from the front of themachine and shows one iilling tube 18 yaround which a web of sheetmaterial is wrapped and heat sealed to form a tube t (Figs. 2 and 7) bymeans not illustrated. The sheet material tube t vextends to a compositedraw bar 2? which is reciprocable to draw with it successive lengths ofthe sheet material tube t. More particularly the ldraw bar 214B ismounted in fixed axial relation to a pair of vertical rods, one of whichis seen at 22. Mechanism beneath a platform 24 (Fig. l) reciprocatesthese rods and at the same time imparts an oscillatory movement to saidrods. The draw bar 2t) comprises a pair of transversely extending frames26, 27 on which are mounted two pairs of heat sealing grippers 28, 30.In the upper position of the draw bar 2t?, the rod 22 (and the other rodnot shown), are rotated and through existing means bring the grippers25, 39V from an open position (Fig. 4) to a clamping position (Fig. 6)vin which the sheet material tube is heat sealed thereby and firmlygripped therebetween. The draw bar is then moved downward and at VthisVtime a charge of articles is released through the tube 1.8 andreceivedin the sealed off endl of the sheet material tube. During thisdownward movement of the draw bar 2), 'a itin-fe,- not shown, is passedbetween vthe g'rippers 23, 3G' -to separate a previously filled bag'.Just before the draw bar reaches its lowermost position (-Fig. 7), thegrippers 2d are opened slightly by'actuation of a solenoid 3 2 whichcontrols the illustratedtoggle linkage'. The solenoid 32 is energized byappropriateelectric eye means (not shown) which are responsive Ytovindiciav on the tube forming web. The indicia on the tube forming web'are spaced apart a fixed distance representing the desired length forforming a bag. The use of solenoid V3`2irisu'res that exactly the samelength of bag is drawn each time 'with a slight overtravel of the drawbar 2'0` 4being provbar 20 is 4then raised to its upper position forrepetition of the' described process'. VIt willb'e appreciated that thelength of the bag thus formed is dependent upon the length of tube tdrawn by the bar 2t) and as controlled by the indicia-ori the tubeforming web.

As will have been noticed from the various figures, during the `fillingand forming, i.e., sealing, of the bag a strip of coupon material wasalso sealed-to the tube t by the grippers 28 and 30. This strip isprovided from a supply roll 34 (Figs. l and 4)'-which is pivotaliymounted on a stud 36 extending outwardly from a vertical `bar 38. Earsl40 (see also Fig. 2) extend rearwardly from the bar 40 and receive avertical shaft 42. shaft d2 is ysecured to `and spaced from frameprojections i4 to' provide a rigid support for the present couponattaching. device while also 4permitting it to be swung about` theshaft' 42 to permit access to the' front of the machine or Vwhen it isdesired to use the machine without the device When thev couponattachingdevice is in its operative position, further rigidity isprovided by a rod 45' secured .at one .end to the frame of the machine.AV swing screw 47 is threaded into the' other end of the rod i5 andclamps a slotted plate 49 thereagainst. The plate is rigidly connectedto the attaching device in a .manner which will further appear.

V.The basic framework (Figs. 1 and 2) for the-present device comprises ahorizontal bar 46 secu-red tothe vertical bar 38 and a second parallelhorizontal bar 48 .spaced Vtherefrom by cross piecesSli', 51, 52 andf54.'Ihe fslottedplate V49 is .secured to the' @bar 46. A web. w is V as thebar 92 engages the lug 94 (Fig. 5).

drawn from'the supply roll 34 and extends downwardly over a roller 56,around a vertically movable slackener roll 58, upwardly and over rollers60, 62 downwardly past an electric eye unit 64 and then around a rollerV66, then aroundV an adjustable roller 68 and a fixed roller 70 to anangle rod 72 around which the web w passes and in doing Vso changes itsdirection 90 so that it may extend toward the filling tube 18 ina'direction normal to the front of the machine. Y

The rolls 56, 60, 62, 66 and 70 are journaled or otherwise mounted onthe bars 46, 48 or on plates secured thereto in a convenient manner. Theslackener roll 58 is guided for parallel vertical movement by slottedplates f 74 and the illustrated rack and pinion arrangement. YTheYweight of the roll 58 is suicient to maintain thecoupon web w taut atall times. Y y

The electric eye 64 is arranged to detect the passage are spaced apartalongthe length of the web, the distance desired forieachY length ofcoupon. The roll 68 is guided for parallel horizontal movementbyslottedfplates 76 (secured to bars 46 and 48) and the illustrated rackand pinion arrangement (Figs. l and 2). provided to facilitateadjustment of the'roll 68 in order to correlate the length of web wbetween the electric Yeye 64 and its point of attachment to the tube tto the length of the particular coupon. This results in proper v ofindicia i (Fig. 7) onrthe coupon web w. The indicia i p A knob 78 is ,il

registration ofwhatever printing is on the coupon when it is attachedYto a finished bag. A threaded knob 80 is provided to clamp the roller68 in this adjusted position.

After the coupon web bends over the angle rod 72 it passes over a plate82and'then enters a chute-84 (Fig.

7). The plate82 is secured to the bar 46 and further i z--j gidityisprovided by the rod 72 which is secured at one VVend to thepl'ate 1.82and atits other end to the bar 48.

A brake member 85 isrfaced with a strap `87 of appro- .priatefrictionmaterial and friction material/is provided therebeneath onth'eplate 82, A tail 86 extends from Vthe brake member 85 and is pivotallymounted lon a pin 88 which in turn ismounted on the bar 48 by way of abracket 90 (Fig. 2). A lever 92 (Figs. 2 and 3) is pivot- Aally Ymountedon a shoulder bolt 93 extending fromVthe coupon web w additional to whatis drawn by movement bar 48. The Vlever 92 overlies the tail 86 and inturn is captured in this overlying relation by an undercut lug v 94secured to the tail 86. The other end Yof the bar 92,

is connected by a link 96 to the plunger of a solenoid 98 which issecured to the cross member 51. A screw 100 (Fig. 3) is threaded intothe cross member 50 to posivtion and maintain a compression spring 102in engagement with the bar 92 and thus provide a braking force to theVbrake member 85. the solenoid 98 lis energized,

bar 92 will be'raised against the forceV of spring 102 and the brakemember 85 lifted awayfrom the coupon web 'Ihe chute 84 (Figs. 5 and.6)comprises a pair of plates 104, 106 which are spaced apart a distancesutli- V cient for freepassageY of the coupon web and secured togetherby screws 108. The plate 104 is secured at its upper end -to a attedportion of a pivot rod 110 which is journaled in outstanding ears 111(Fig. 2) of a bracket Y112 which in turn is secured to the, bar 82. -Atone end oftheY pivot rod 110 is anV L-shaped lever i114 with a cam roll116 extending from the ,upper leg of said lever.

ratchet' 118 and pivotally mounted on ascrewv 121 threaded into .the endlof bar -46 .(FigsjZ, 3 and 4). Be-

. yond the screw 121, thelatch 119 is provided with'a flat tail 123which extendsv overV thelever 92. A lug 12S-is secured to the lever 92-and screw V127 positions the .tail

7.123.(and latch'119)fagainst the action of a Vcompression spring 129.

. A single tooth ratchet 118 is pinned to the pivot rod'110 Y next tothe lever 114. A latch V119 is disposed above the gins its downwardmovement thelever .140 overlies Vvfilling machine is continuous and, ashas been alluded, .requires ftwo cycles of movement of the draw bar `tocomplete each bag. Referring to Fig. 4, the draw bar 20 is in its upper,4open position with the grippers 28, 30 ready to v`simultaneously'sealthe upper end of a lled bag and also the lower end of the nextsuccessive bag. W'nen the grippers 28, 30 are brought into contact withthe bag material (Fig. 6) the right hand gripper 28 engages the chute84, to bringit to the full line position V,offFigs. 4 and 6.v When thegrippers close,`appropriate timing means actuate the solenoid 98,raising the vlever y92, thus raising the brakemember away from thecoupon web w and also pressing the latch 119 yieldingly against theratchet member 118 (Fig. 6.)

' After the draw bar 20 is closed and the coupon web w sealedto the bagtube vthe draw bar moves downwardly, drawing .with it the sheet materialbag tube and also theicoupon webw. At thistime a charge of articles isreleased through the tube 18. Shortly after this .downwai-d movementbegins, alu`g140.secured to the vertical rod. 22 engages the horizontalarm of the L-shaped lever 114 swingingthe lchute 84 4to its outermostposition (as se'enxin, Eig. 5).` Y The-lug 140 is best. seen in Fig. 2

{When the 'draw b`ar20fis in its open position. It will be Arememberedthat thev rod 22,rotates as the draw bar is closed -andin doingsoVbrings the projection 140 to the indicated, phantom position. Y Thus.when Vthe draw bar be- Ythe horizontal arm ofi lever 114. t

:When lthe chuteY 84 isso swung, Ait draws a length Vof of the draw bar.The length Yof web w drawn bythis combined action is 'somewhatgreaterfthan ythe length of bag material,- i-.e. tube t, drawn by thedraw bar20.

. YRememheringgthat'the lever 92" is raised yieldingly forcing thejlatch 119 against the ratchet 118, the-latch 119 will be seated against thesingle tooth of ratchet 118 when the chute is so swung by the lug 140.The chute 84Ywill thereby-'positively be held' in its outermost position(Fig. 5). 'Y Y Y 'When theAV draw Vbar Vhas reached a point somewhatabove itslowermost position, the next succeeding indicium i (Fig. 7) onthe couponfweb'w will trigger the electric eyeY 64 vwhich in .turnisarrangedto `cause deenergization of the solenoid 98. At this point,further feed of the rcoupon :web wis immediately stopped as the 'brakemember 85 is pressed against` thefwebV w by spring 102. Simultaneouslyvthe latch 119 is raisedv from the ratchet 118 vpermitting movement'of.the chute 84. Thereafter the chute 84 will be swung inwardly a shortdistance Yto the position seendn Fig. 7 as -thedraw 'bar 20 continuesits downward movement. Y"When the Vdraw bar reaches the positionVVseeniinj lfFig.17, .thegrippers 28 are opened a sh-ortdistance by. thesolenoid 32 as it is energized by the next succeeding indicia on theV.tube forming web `by ythe above-mentioned electricleye means.Thereafter the draw -bar is yTrinved to its fully open position with theframes 26, y27 separatedand -then the drawV bar is raised v to its upperposition(Fig. A4). Y As raising movement occurs, the roller Y116-isdelectedby a lug :144 also secured to therod 22; VI-t-wil1again beremembered that thisrod'22 rotates .orfoscillates `asthe draw'bar ismoved -A disc 120 (Figs.`2 and 3) is pinned to ther otherend Y .of thepivot rod and Vis'engaged byua 'non-rotatable Ydisc of vfrictionmaterial131 which is replaceably secured between` its open and closedpositions.'v 'An'd .thus on upward movement of :th'e vdrawibar (operiposition) the lug 144 is positioned to engage the roll i1.176 VandYswing the :chute V84`inward1yiat least to --the intermediate 'phantomandasse position of Pig. 4 to prevent thechute from being struck by .therising draw 'bar 20. The friction disc 131 pref vents free swingingmovement of the chute to insure against any rebound thereof. y

The coupon web is thus draped along the length of Ithe bag just iilledduring upward movement of theA draw bar. The grippers again move in andseal lthe top of this bag and the bottom .of the next bag and at thesame time seal .the coupon to the bag. The bag vitself is bulgcd out bythe articles therein and it has been gfound that the above describedmeans, and particularly the movable chute 84, which insure the provisionof a coupon slightly longer than .the bag length will Yinsure thecoupon'tting snugly against the bulged `out bag without distorting itfrom its generally symmetrical appearance. It has `been found that Vfora bag Sor 6 inches in length, the coupon should be about 1/16 of an inchlonger than the length of the bag. l

Many variations in form and structure Within `the scope of thelteachings of the present invention will be apparent and withoutotherwise limiting such scope, note should be taken that the dischargeend of .the chute 84 could bc replaced by a pair of parallel rods 'whichmight not be spaced as close together as the plates 104 and 106.

Having thus described the invention, what isnovel and desired to besecured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. In a packaging machine of the type having a composite draw bar onwhich are mounted heat sealing grippers, means for verticallyreciprocating said draw bar, means -for closing said grippers againstthe end of a tube of heat scalable sheet material when the draw bar isin .an upper position and maintaining said grippers closed Ias the drawbar is lowered to draw the tube therewith, means for separating saidgrippers at a lower position of the draw bar preparatory to its returnto its upper position, and means for releasing la charge of articlesinto said sealed tube prior to `the grippers being rccloscd against saidtube; coupon attaching mechanism comprising means `for guiding a web ofcoupon stock om l. given point towards said grippers whereby .the webmay be gripped therebetween and heat scaled to said tube and then drawntherewith as the draw bar is lowered, a member engageable with said webbetween said given point and said draw bars, and means operable whilesaid draw bars are being lowered for displacing said member against saidweb so that a small additional length of web is drawn supplemental .tothe length drawn by said draw bars, whereby the coupon will properlyconform -to the shape of Ithe filled tube when the grippers again closeto seal off a bag portion thereof and at the same time seal the couponthereto.

2. In a packaging machine of the type having a composite draw bar onwhich lare mounted heat scaling grippers, means for verticallyreciprocating said draw bar, means for closing said grippers against theend of a tube of heat scalable sheet material when the draw bar is in anupper position and maintaining said grippers closed as the draw bar islowered to draw the tube therewith, means for separating said grippersat `a lower position of the draw bar preparatory to its return to itsupper position, and means for releasing a charge of articles into saidsealed tube prior to the grippers being recloscd against said tube;coupon attaching mechanism comprising means for guiding a web of couponstock towards said grippers whereby the web may be gripped therebetweenand heat sealed to said tube and then drawn therewith as the draw bar islowered, said guiding means including a depending chute terminating in adischarge end adjacent the draw bar grippers in their upper position andmeans for moving said discharge end away from the tube as the draw baris lowered to draw a slightly greater length of coupon than the lengthof tube material drawn by the draw bar, whereby the coupon will properlyconform to the shape of a lled bag when the grippers again close to sealoli a u bag portion thereof and at the same time seal thecoupoiithereto.

3. Coupon attaching mechanism as in claim 2 wherein the chute ispivotally mounted at a point Iremote Vfrom its dischargeiend andprojc'ctionsmovable with the draw bar swing the discharge end of thechute towards and away from the tube. l

4. In a packaging machine of the 'type' having a coinposite draw bar onwhich are mounted heat sealing grippers, means for vertical-lyreciprocating said draw bar, means for closing'said `grippers againstthe end of a tube of heat scalable sheet material when the draw bar isin an upper position and maintainingsaid grippers closed as the drawvbar is lowered to draw-the tube therewith, means for separating saidgrippers at a lower position ofthe draw bar preparatory to its return toits upper position, and means forreleasing a charge of articleslintosaid sealed tube prior `to thegrippers Vbeing-rccloscd against saidtube;

coupon attachingmechanism comprising a rotatable supply roll of couponstock having indicia spaced along its "length a distance representingthe desired coupon length and a distance somewhat greater than thelength of tube drawn by the draw bar during 'its downward movement,means for guiding a web of coupon stock from the supply roll -to a pointadjacent the-upper position of the draw bar, an electric eye `forscanning said web and responsive to passage-of said indicia, a brake forcontrolling movement of 'said web, means for deactuatingsaid brake Vtopermit the coupon web tobe drawn withthe tube as'the draw bar is loweredand means for actuating said brake in response to passage of an indiciumpast the electric eye.

5. In a packaging machine of the type having a composite draw bar onwhich are mounted heat sealing grippers, means for verticallyreciprocating said draw bar, means for closing said grippers against theend of a tube of heat scalable sheet material when the draw bar is in anupper position and maintaining said grippers closed as the draw bar islowered to draw the tube therewith, means for separating said grippers-at a lower position of the draw bar preparatory to its return to itsupper position, and means for releasing a charge of articles into saidscaled tube prior to the grippers being rccloscd against said tube;coupon attaching mechanism comprising a rotatable supply roll of couponstock having indicia spaced along its length a distance representing thedesired coupon length and a distance somewhat greater than the length oftube drawn by the draw bar during its downward movement, means forguiding a web of coupon stock from the supply roll to a point adjacentthe upper position of the draw bar whereby the coupon web may be grippedby the grippers and heat sealed to said tube, an electric eye forscanning said web and responsive to passage of said indicia, a brake forcontrolling movement of said web, means for deactuating said brakeduring at least a portion of the downward movement of said draw bar topermit the coupon web to be drawn from said supply roll, auxiliary meansfor drawing said web so that the next successive indicium is brought tothe electric eye Iby the combined action of the draw bar and theauxiliary means at least by the time the draw bar has reached itslowermost position, and means responsive to the electric eye sensingsaid indicium for actuating said brake.

6. In a packaging machine of the type having a composite draw bar onwhich are mounted heat sealing grippers, means for verticallyreciprocating said draw bar, means for closing said grippers against theend of a tube of heat scalable sheet material when the draw bar is in anupper position and maintaining said grippers closed as the draw bar islowered to draw the tube therewith, means for separating said grippersat a lower position of the draw bar preparatory to its return to itsupper position, and means for releasing a charge of articles into saidsealed tube prior to the grippers being rccloscd against said tube;coupon attaching mechanism comprising a rotatable supply roll of couponstock having indicia spaced along its length a distance representingthedesiredcouponV length and a distance somewhat greater than thenlengthof tube drawn by the draw bar kduringitsdownward movement, means' foriguiding a -Web of coupon stock from the supply roll to a point adjacentthe upper position of the draw'bari said guiding means including a piv-Votally mounted'depending chute terminating in aV discharge end adjacentthe grippers of said draw bar where- V.by the couponweb may be I 'ppedbythe grippers and heat sealed torsaid tube', -an electric eye mountedYto scan -said web and responsive to -thei passageof said indicia, a

` brake-for controlling movement of said web, means operative uponclosureo-f said grippers'to deactuateA said brake to permit the couponwebto be drawn bythe d raw bar -during'itsdownward movement, means forswinging the discharge end of saidchute awaygfrom said tube to increasethe amount' of-web so d rawn so that 'the next suc Y most remote fromsaid tube until the brake is actuated.V

8. Cc'aupon'attaching mechanism as in claim 7 wherein the locking meanscomprise a latch and a single tooth ratchet rotatable with saidchute andengageable by said Iatchwheu the discharge end` of the chute is in.- itsfur- 15 fln a Wrappingtmachine as n1 8 the stV position from said tube,andthe means for actuat-- ingmandY deactuating.said-brake-include asolenoid which isenerglzedpwhenthe grippers close and-deenegized inresponse to said indicium beingvsensed by said electric o eye',` andsaid latch ismounted'to be yieldingly forced against said ratchet inre'sponseto energization of said slenoid-J i; 1 `Y 119. 1n a wrappingmachine as in claim 6 wherein the couponattaching `mechanism is disposedat the frontl of 1Q machine and wherein the web guiding means includesan angularly disposed bar and the web is guided along a path11atera11yxof the machine and then passes over said angular.bar toIapproach* the grippers in a path which is normal to theY front of themachine.

Y *Y wfwherein the coupon attaching mechanism-is-- disposedat the frontvof the-imrachine. arid: Pvtally mguntiyg means Aare provided forswinging the coupon attaching, mechanism about a fvejllfaxisztoprqvdsiasss t9 thepfrrpnt 0f thema- Y? Y l References Cited the le ofVthis patent UNITEDsTATEs PATENTS kWeisman .V Nov. 25,` 1 '958

